Green School's Class Of '48 Recall Memories

Imelda Vincek set her sights on Wayne Jensen when they were in fourth grade at the former Green School.

``He had these nice blue eyes and his hair was slicked back. He kept staring and I kept staring,'' she said. ``He was so neat and cute.''

The two got married about four years after high school graduation, and they're still together. On Friday they will join 12 other classmates to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their eighth-grade graduation from Green School.

About 26 people, including the spouses of some, will attend; one classmate is traveling from Colorado for the event. There were 36 students in the original graduating class.

Life was different in those days. Wayne and Imelda were a number even back in fourth grade. They went to the movies together. They joined their friends for tobogganing on hills where the high school now stands. They went ice skating in Center Spring Park and in the summer they swam at Globe Hollow or Salter's Pond.

So, too, was school different. The Jensens, who live in Enfield, can't remember anyone ever getting into trouble.

And of course young gentlemen had to remove their hats when they entered the school, said Harvey Barrette of Coventry.

Even so, Barrette remembers ``doing time'' in the principal's office, for some long-forgotten offense. ``It might have been for shooting spitballs,'' he said laughing. The principal was Esther Granstrom.

``She was stern, but kind,'' Barrette said. ``She allowed no shenanigans. That's the word you used 40 years ago.''

Both Pilver and Imelda Jensen remember a favorite teacher, Madeline Mitchell, who taught fourth grade and then was transferred to sixth grade. Everyone loved her. They all supposed that she would remain a part of their lives forever.

In the summer after sixth grade, Mitchell was killed in an accident.

Jensen remembers her for her goodness and kindness. Pilver remembers, also, that she was a woman of her word. She was an avid bird watcher, and one day she came into the sixth-grade class and told them they were going on a field trip. Few classes went on field trips in those days. This would be a special treat.

They all lined up to walk down Vernon Street where, at the end, there was a large wooded area. There they would search for the familiar birds they had studied.

But the excitement must have overtaken them. The teacher repeatedly told them to be quiet. They continued to chatter. Finally, Mitchell said if they didn't settle down, they wouldn't see any birds at all.

They ignored her. So she turned them all around and marched them back to class even before they got to the woods. ``We didn't see any birds,'' Pilver said.

Pilver also remembers the day the school burned. She and her friends were walking to school one morning when they encountered a group of children walking back home.

No school today, they said. The school had burned down.

Pilver and her friends didn't believe the tale, but when they arrived, they found the back of the building badly burned. They were out of school several days, and soon afterward were on double sessions while the damage was repaired.

Both women remember what they wore on eighth-grade graduation day. Both girls and boys wore all white: girls in dresses, boys in white slacks, white shirts and dark ties.

Pilver's was made of cotton in a tiny waffle weave. It had a cotton lace bodice and short puffy sleeves.

And for the first time in her life, she wore nylon hose with ``wedgies,'' shoes that had a little wedge heel. ``I was grown up,'' she said.

Jensen wore a dress with an eyelet lace bodice and a peplum at her waist. Jensen did her hair in pin curlers every night; Pilver wore hers straight.

``I used to be so jealous of her,'' Jensen admitted, laughing. ``She looked so beautiful.'' They've been best friends, however, for many years.

The reunion will begin at 3 p.m. with a tour of the old school, which now serves as the Manchester Senior Citizens' Center. They will review old pictures, then gather in the former seventh-grade classroom for punch. All will receive a copy of the original graduation program, ``Understanding Our World.''

They will pose for a group picture on the stage where they stood for photos 50 years ago, and dinner will follow. On Saturday, they will gather again for a cookout at Barrette's Coventry Lake home.